The Nun's Story (1959)

I consider Fred Zinnemann a bit underrated. Sure, he had his honors in life, but how often do even film buffs mention the director of High Noon, From Here to Eternity, and A Man for All Seasons? I don't recognize many more of his titles, but they tend to have IMDb ratings in the sevens. Throw in Oscar nominations plus a young Audrey Hepburn and I'm there.

The story begins in late '20s Bruges when Gaby (Hepburn) begins convent life as "Sister Luke." By the '30s, her bumpy road has led her to Belgian Congo, where she serves as a nurse and hopes to convert some natives along the way, despite brash nonbeliever Dr. Fortunati (Peter Finch). But she always considers herself more disciplined in medicine than in faith, and the latter especially gets put to the test when Germany invades her homeland....

The Story of a Cheat (1936)

This is also known by three other English titles: Confessions of a Cheat, The Story of a Trickster, and The Cheat. I guess that kind of multiplicity is more common for older foreign flicks. It is a little on the obscure side, being part of the Eclipse series from The Criterion Collection. Perhaps I had best identify it by its French title: Le roman d'un tricheur.

Written, directed by, narrated by, and starring Sacha Guitry, it never does name the protagonist, so discussions in English generally call him "the Cheat." The Cheat is presently in a cafe writing his memoirs, with most of the story illustrated in flashback. He begins with an incident at age 12 in which a punishment for theft unintentionally saves his life, giving him the lasting impression that a dishonest lifestyle pays off. From there, we get several episodes over the years in which he either shamelessly cheats or tries going straight, but life keeps throwing surprises his way. What lesson should he take to heart?

Viva Zapata! (1952)

After watching, I thought I should have saved this for Friday. Further research told me that Cinco de Mayo commemorates an event nearly 50 years before the Mexican Revolution, depicted herein. In fact, Porfirio Díaz, one of the heroes of the Battle of Puebla, is pretty much a villain this time around. It must be hard to remain in the good graces of the common people after 35 years as president.

The focal new hero is Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando), one of many peasants whose land has been stolen and who find Díaz unhelpful in their quest not to starve. He becomes a general of the rebellion that ushers in a new president. But the movie's only about half over before he and his brother, Eufemio (Anthony Quinn), find something a greater challenge than war: peace. If "peace" is the right word.

The BFG (2016)

Despite the esteem of Roald Dahl, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory appears to be the only highly popular adaptation of his literature. All the others to my knowledge have IMDb ratings in the sixes. The BFG sadly has the lowest of all at present, and while its Rotten Tomatoes and Google user scores are better, they still lag behind other Dahl flicks. But as a rare combination of Disney and Steven Spielberg, it looked fit to appeal to me.

For a man three stories tall, the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance in motion capture) does a remarkable job of not being seen as he walks the streets of London at night, distributing harvested sweet dreams -- but preteen Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), who never was one for conventions like sleeping at 3 a.m., makes eye contact. To avoid an imminent giant hunt, he whisks Sophie to his home in Giant Land and declines her pleas to return. (Good thing she hated the orphanage anyway.) Yeah, the "friendly" part has its limits, but he's still far kinder than the other nine giants we know of, who give the lie to the "big" part of his moniker. His growing friendship with Sophie strengthens his urge to stop their human hunts, even if it means enabling a giant hunt.

Creed (2015)

Rocky has been my favorite boxing movie for ages, but that's not saying much. I had never watched any of its sequels in full, tho I did check out the Nostalgia Critic's video on Rocky IV, which caught me up on what happened to Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa's pro rival-turned-friend. I looked up a few other details along the way, but not much affected my understanding of the situation herein.

In 1998, orphan Adonis Johnson, in an L.A. juvie for fighting, learns that he's the bastard son of similarly Greek-named Apollo and accepts adoption by Apollo's widow. In the present, "Donny" (now played by Michael B. Jordan) moves to Philly and tracks down Rocky (an especially unattractive, mumbly Sylvester Stallone). Despite both Rocky and Mrs. Creed telling him it's a bad career, he doesn't feel like doing any work but pugilism, preferably with Rocky in his corner.

The Fall (2006)

Sometimes all it takes to gain my interest is a distinctive poster. And repeated suggestions on Netflix. And a good IMDb score. I hadn't heard of this movie when it was brand new, and I still knew very little about it when I decided to add it. Only one name on it was familiar to me, and just barely. Even the production companies and distributor meant nothing to me. The fact that David Fincher and Spike Jonze had presented it made it all the more of a gamble for my liking. But I gamble a little more than I used to.

In the silent era, Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), a young Romanian girl who moved to L.A., has broken her arm in a fall. At the hospital, she wanders in on Roy (Lee Pace), a Hollywood stuntman bedridden from his own fall, which is enough to arouse her interest. Roy starts spinning an epic yarn illustrated in her imagination, about a team's journey for justice against a tyrant, with a chance of love for the main hero on the side. But it soon becomes clear that he's not just feeling friendly: He wants to motivate her to swipe morphine for him so he'll continue. And when he says it's to help him "sleep," that's a half-truth....

The Hill (1965)

No, it has nothing to do with Capitol Hill or any other famous real hill. I chose this film partly because I hadn't seen any work of Sidney Lumet's in a while, especially his early work, and partly because I hadn't seen any Sean Connery in a while. Neither is known for much in the subgenre in question.

The setting is a British Army prison camp in the Libyan Desert in World War II. Soldiers who committed various offenses wind up here, and depending on the judgment of the staff sergeant on duty, they may have to run repeatedly over a manmade hill. The first half to two-thirds of the movie has little plot beyond the general conflict between guards and prisoners, but when one climber drops dead (as summaries keep mentioning before long), the rest get restless in their desire to make the harshest screw answer for it, and the authorities bicker over how to handle the potential riot.

The Illusionist (2006)

No, not the 2010 animation written by Jacques Tati. Like Infamous, this movie got overshadowed by a similarly themed movie out around the same time, in this case The Prestige. (Scoop also focused on magic that year, but despite the Woody Allen label, it didn't enjoy as much popularity as either competitor.) Regardless, TI has pretty high ratings, so it must have...cast a spell on some viewers.

In the Austro-Hungarian Empire late in the nineteenth century, Eduard Abramovich (Edward Norton) is a magician with the stage name of Eisenheim. One night, his volunteer from the audience is Duchess Sophie von Teschen (Jessica Biel), once his teen sweetheart until authorities forced them apart due to his lower class. Alas, she is betrothed to Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), who has a reputation for physically abusing women, is believed to have killed one, and plans to usurp the throne. Leopold takes little time to grow suspicious and sends Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) to snoop on Eisenheim and look for an excuse to arrest him. Rescuing Sophie and/or bringing Leopold to justice would take an extraordinary feat of magic....

Not One Less (1999)

Zhang Yimou might be best known in the west for directing action flicks, including the wuxia variety, like Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Most recently, he has disappointed audiences with The Great Wall. But I have seen even more of his films in the drama genre, most of them following common hardships of people in China. This is one of those.

In a remote village, the only available substitute teacher at a dwindling elementary school is 13-year-old Wei Minzhi. She has been promised a monetary reward if none of the students drop out during her month of teaching. When 11-year-old Zhang Huike gets sent to the nearest city, Zhangjiakou, for work, Wei and the class put their heads together for the best way to fetch him. Ultimately, Wei alone heads for the city, with very little money to spend.

Spy (2015)

I surprised myself by watching this. Not only do I rarely like modern comedies anymore, but spy parodies are too easy and overdone. Still, it had been a while: Get Smart had its final adaptation in 2008, the last Austin Powers entry was in 2002, and James Bond hasn't felt like a self-parody since Die Another Day. More than that, I must have been in the mood for something female-centered (however tomboyish) after so many masculine works, and the fairly high marks across all major ratings sites got me curious.

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) provides remote tech support to the CIA's answer to Bond, Bradley Fine (Jude Law), from a vermin-infested basement. When an enemy in contact with Fine, Rayna (Rose Byrne), reveals knowledge of him and several other spies, Susan volunteers to enter the field as an unknown, with friend Nancy (Miranda Hart) doing for her what Susan did for Fine. Her mission is strictly track-and-report, but since only Rayna knows the location of an ill-gotten nuke, Susan reluctantly sees fit to do a bit more for Rayna's protection. A further complicating factor is rogue CIA agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham), who places a million times more faith in his own skills than in Susan's, but his contribution has mixed results. (Gee, a lot of British agents work for the U.S.)